Spanish town beats Venice to Woody Allen premiere

Director Woody Allen held a secret premiere of his new film "Cassandra's Dream" in the northern Spanish city of Aviles on Monday, ahead of its official unveiling at the Venice film festival later

Director Woody Allen held a secret premiere of his new film "Cassandra's Dream" in the northern Spanish city of Aviles on Monday, ahead of its official unveiling at the Venice film festival later this year.

The film, starring Colin Farrell and Ewan McGregor, was shown at the town hall in the industrial city on condition of absolute secrecy by the 600 people who saw it, newspaper El Pais reported on Tuesday. "I hope you like the film, but if you don't, you can ask for your money back," the director quipped, the newspaper said.

Allen moved on to the nearby city of Oviedo on Tuesday with a crew looking for locations to shoot his new film starring Scarlett Johansson, Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz. Filming starts later this year in Barcelona.

Allen first visited Oviedo back in 2002, when he was awarded Spain's Prince of Asturias arts prize, and said he was charmed by the city's Romanesque and medieval architecture.